A bronze sculpture of ancient Chinese philosopher Laozi (about 571 BC- 471 BC) was installed on Wednesday in Greece's National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

The artwork titled "Harmony between Humankind and Nature -- statue of Laozi" was crafted by Professor Wu Weishan, who is curator of the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC).

The sculpture, which won the gold medal at the 2012 Louvre International Art Exhibition in France, will be on display permanently here, engaging in dialogue with the museum's artifacts, Wu said at an inauguration ceremony.

"I am moved that the museum's visitors will from now on be able to see a sculpture created by a Chinese artist," Wu said.

"It is our duty to bring closer our peoples via an honest and open dialogue," Anna Vassiliki Karapanagiotou, general director of the National Archaeological Museum, said.

"Dialogue between Chinese and Greek civilizations" was the title of Wednesday's event and this dialogue is deepening in recent years thanks to many initiatives, Karapanagiotou said.

The Greek Museum has collaborated with NAMOC to exchange exhibitions and more are planned in the future, she said.

The is not the first piece by Wu to be displayed in Greece. In 2021, his sculpture "Socrates and Confucius: An Encounter," depicting the two great philosophers of ancient Greece and China, was respectively installed at the Ancient Agora of Athens, a historic site at the foot of the Acropolis once serving as the social, political, and commercial hub of the city. 

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